Using the Archives

Getting StartedThe facilities of Special Collections are open to the public. University of Arkansas faculty and students as well as scholars, journalists, and other investigators from throughout the United States and other countries have conducted research in the collections. The results of their work have appeared in theses and dissertations, newspaper articles, scholarly and popular journals and books, exhibits, and television and film productions.

We invite you to prepare for your visit by consulting the subject guides, policies and procedures, and manuscript finding aids available here. You may also wish to contact Special Collections in advance of your visit.

Special Collections is open to students, faculty, and staff of the University, to researchers from other colleges and universities, and to the general public. Library staff can provide limited assistance but we do not have adequate staff to conduct research for patrons.

Reading Procedures

UACCH Archives is open to all researchers interested in its collections, subject to the regulations outlined below. Procedures derive from these basic concerns: quality of service to researchers, security and preservation of the materials, courtesy to other researchers, and compliance with university and library regulations.

Prospective users of college archives must complete a registration form and furnish positive identification (with a photograph).

Restricted and unprocessed materials may be consulted only with the permission of the Library Director.

Eating and drinking are not permitted.

Special Collections materials are housed in closed stacks and may be used only in the Library. Researchers request materials, which are retrieved by the staff.

Research materials will not be retrieved within 30 minutes of closing. All materials must be returned 15 minutes before closing.

Please handle all research materials very carefully:

The use of pens is prohibited; pencils may be obtained from the staff.

Remove only one folder of manuscripts from a box at a time.

Do not remove manuscript material from its position within the file folder. Maintain the order and arrangement of unbound materials.

Do not write on paper laid over research materials; this includes tracing maps or other outlines.

Leave materials flat on tables during use.

Do not lay books or other heavy objects on research materials.

Do not add or erase marks on materials.

Do not open uncut leaves or pages of books.

Mark a place in books or folders with clean paper sheets or strips.

Never place an open book face down.

Researchers are not permitted to photocopy materials. Ask staff to explain photocopy request procedures.
Completed photocopies are kept at the Library’s main desk until researchers are ready to leave the Library.
Users may request copies of photographs on paper.

Researchers are responsible for compliance with laws governing copyright. Neither the granting of access to materials nor duplication of materials conveys or implies conveyance of the right to publish such materials. Please consult the department’s Citations Guide for more information.

When researchers have finished their work, staff must again inspect note paper or special equipment used at the study tables.

Users who do not follow Archive Policies & Procedures may be denied access to the department’s collections.